September 2009 Meeting Minutes

The Hong Kong Unit of the League of Women Voters met at 10:00am on Tuesday, September 8, 2009, in the Pacific Club’s Chairman’s Room.

Thirteen members were present and enjoyed a delicious brunch provide by the League.

Debra Joyce, League President, opened the meeting by welcoming two guests, Chris Exline, the guest speaker and Beverly Suun, guest of Robin Ernest.

Robin Ernest, League Vice President, introduced Chris Exline, the guest speaker. Mr. Exline is the president of Home Essentials and chairman of Republicans Abroad.

Following Mr. Exline’s informative and entertaining talk, the president began the business meeting.

Marti Law was thanked for her hard work last year as League Vice President.

Susan Wallace read the minutes from the 32nd Annual General Meeting held on May 12, 2009. Susan Vermeulen made the motion to accept the minutes and Anita Chopra seconded the motion.

The president announced that Adrienne Urbanec, the League secretary, has moved to Singapore. Phyllis Lubbers has volunteered to take over that position.

The League board members then made brief reports. Robin Ernest, Vice President, passed out to the members a list of meeting dates, hostesses and topics for 2009-2010. She asked that members to volunteer where hostesses or co-hostesses were still needed. The next meeting speaker will be Anita To from “Save the Children”. Rachel
Monballiu offered to co-host. A venue is still needed.

Robin Brown, League Treasurer, reported that the League has $6,250.99 in the checking account and $19,383.42 in the saving account.

She stated that $11,948 was approved as the budget for the year and that $2,018 had been spent thus far. Robin Ernest made the motion to approve and Beth Hall seconded.

Susan Vermeleun, Membership Chairman, announced that all 13 members present had paid their Hong Kong and National dues. There are 29 on the email list at the moment. Beth Hall requested that the current contact list be updated and sent out to the membership. The president noted that she and Beth had attended the HKIS New Parent Coffee and interested persons from the coffee would be added to the email list. Members were also reminded that there is a cut off date for dues to be paid.

Sandra Collins de Lange, Voter Registration, gave a brief report on highlights of the National League’s “Voice on Line”. She stated that now the main issue is health care legislation. She urged members to contact their local politicians to let their views be known. Sandra also suggested that members read the “Voice on Line” to keep up with the issues being stressed by National League.

Amy van Laak , Recording Secretary, was absent from the meeting. In her absence, the president urged members to check the League website as Amy is updating it often with pictures and information.

The president then recognized Anita Chopra, long time active League member, for all she had done for the League. Anita is moving back to the States at the end of the month. A thank you/goodbye gift was presented to Anita from the League.

As the meeting was finished, the President asked for a motion to adjourn. Anita Chopra made the motion ad Susan Vermeulen seconded.

The next meeting is Tuesday, October 13.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan Wallace
Acting Secretary

May 2009 Annual General Meeting

MINUTES FOR THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS of HONG KONG
32ND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

TUESDAY, MAY 12TH , 2009
HONG KONG Convention & Exhibition Center

President Kathy Chiron called the meeting to order at approximately 11:30 am. After reading the 2008 AGM minutes Kathy asked for corrections and, when none were submitted, called for a motion to accept them as read. Susan Wallace accepted, Anita Chopra seconded and they passed unanimously.
Kathy Chiron distributed the President’s Report and highlighted the most salient activities for the year. Citing her Certificate of Appreciation award from National (LWV), our president noted this is reflective of the entire Hong Kong organization’s efforts.
A special notation was made of Jane Buck’s initiative to convert our paper records into scanned format with completion during the upcoming year.
Our President noted that the agenda for 2009-2010 was available to members but tabled passage for the newly seated board. Additionally, she encouraged members to be more actively engaged in next year’s presentations and meetings.
With the repatriation of Treasury Secretary Lynn Nill, Kathy presented the official Report and budget. A reminder was given to the incoming treasurer that although the spreadsheets have been automated, the records are currently kept in manual form. The group discussed that confusion over the cocktail reception resulted in our subsidizing the event and the fact that two members are not required to pay local dues*. Robin Brown approved the budget and report, Robin Ernest seconded the motion and passage was unanimous.
Robin Ernest then asked that the process for distributing our excess funds be explained. Kathy stated that this remains at the discretion of the board but recommended that some funds are kept in reserve.
The President distributed visors gifted from National and photos were taken. She shared that her visit to Washington D.C. headquarters was both enjoyable and informative. There is a sincere appreciation of the Hong Kong League’s bi-partisan efforts on behalf of voter causes and educational pursuits. Kathy displayed the Overseas Voting Survey and asked any interested members to review the contents.
The 2009-2010 Slate of Officers was announced and is as follows;

Position Nominee
__________________________________________________
President Debra Joyce
Vice-President Robin Ernest
Treasurer Robin Brown
Recording Secretary Adrienne Urbanec
Corresponding Secretary Amy Van Laak
Voter Services Sandra Collins-de Lange
Membership Susan Vermeulen

No additional nominations were offered from the floor, Susan Wallace moved to accept the slate as read and Jane Buck seconded the motion. Calling for a vote, Kathy noted that passage was unanimous.

A lovely orchid was presented to the outgoing President following which Susan Wallace made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Jane Buck seconded it, accordingly. The meeting closed at 11:50 and lunch was served in the Congress room.

Champagne glasses were raised to recognize the 32nd Anniversary of the League of Women Voters of the United State-Hong Kong unit.
Submitted by Adrienne Urbanec

* Lifetime Members do not pay local dues, but are responsible for National dues. The spouse of the US Consul General, an Honorary Member, does not pay local dues but is responsible for National dues.

April 2009 Minutes

April League Meeting Minutes

The April league meeting convened on the 14th at approximately 10:15 in the home of Sandra Collins-de Lange. Adrienne Urbanec co-hosted and assisted with refreshments while Robin Ernest presented our speaker.

Casey Graham serves as the Manager Consular of Fraud Prevention at the US Consulate. Even before she began to speak, an enthusiastic group peppered her with questions and asked for advice. Casey has been in Hong Kong for two years after serving with the State Department during numerous previous posting. In 1982, she was in Ghana with the Foreign Service teaching the basics of clean water and sanitation. Approached by the State Department, Casey decided to make the move.

Her husband, Vincent, is also a State Department employee and is currently assigned in Iraq. They have three grown children at George Mason University and two younger adoptees. Casey spent a few minutes sharing their trying ordeal with the adoption in India and sympathizes with people in similar situations.

The US Consulate employees 136 Americans and 186 local employees and they span 13 separate agencies. Our attendees were surprised to hear that the DEA and the IRS are counted among the Hong Kong based departments. The Fraud Prevention group addresses two distinct areas of paperwork control; immigrant and non-immigrant. The former reflects foreigners who are applying to permanently immigrate to the US and usually involve marriages; non-immigrants are foreigners applying for visitors’ visa. While Casey empathizes with folks wanting a better life in the States, she must turn away those submitting fraudulent applications.

The ‘bride’ rejections usually affect women from the Philippines while the Chinese, male and female, are more apt to be marrying ‘a relative’ who already resides in the US. Detection sometimes requires lengthy investigations but often takes no more than a few questions about the prospective spouse. While this process may not involve immediate punitive actions if the paperwork is denied, the applicant is barred from entering the US for life.

The non-immigrant investigations are for people seeking a limited time visa and arise from all types of people residing in Hong Kong. These situations vary widely and require myriad detective tactics but the first line of review is to establish if the applicant has family or other safety networks in the US. This is an immediate red-flag that they may overstay their visas.

A question was raised about American ex-pats who want to take their helpers home and the ‘urban legend’ that they flee after arrival. Casey shared that while this outcome is more usual than one might imagine, each application is evaluated on its own merit.

We briefly addressed the alien problem where no paperwork is sought and people attempt the trip illegally. These unfortunates are often lured by promises of good jobs and pay-offs for family members left behind. However, overwhelmingly these end in disappointing, if not tragic, outcomes.

Prefaced by a question regarding the recent hostage situation in Somalia waters, Casey discussed kidnapping in foreign countries. The State Department goes to great lengths to ensure our citizen’s safety and health all around the world. Sharing a few stories about tracking down wayward Americans, she regaled us with lively antidotes. Moving on to the topic of incarceration, we learned that 13 of our citizens reside in Hong Kong prisons. While most sentences are for drug infractions, there are more serious offenders serving their time here.

Our speaker said that she sympathized with those applying for visas because the process can be arduous and may discourage people from following legal channels of entry. She hopes that visa issuance becomes more streamlined thus allowing State employees to focus more resources on the cases where the law is circumvented.

Robin Ernest then presented our speaker with a token of our appreciation and reminded everyone of the annual general meeting on May 12th at the Congress Restaurant at the HK Convention Center to begin at 11:30. Susan Wallace will send out another notice soon.

Robin then closed with a reading of the officers’slate for 09-10

President Debra Joyce
Vice President Robin Ernest
Treasurer Robin Brown
Recording Secretary Adrienne Urbanec
Corresponding Secretary Amy Van Laak
Voter Services Sandra Collins-de Lange
Membership Susan Vermeulen


and reiterated that nominations would be accepted at the AGM. Following any additional names added to the slate, a vote will be taken.

The meeting ended around noon and a number of members and our esteemed guest proceeded to lunch.




Submitted by Adrienne Urbanec

March 2009 Meeting

• March League Meeting Minutes
  
  The March league meeting convened on the 20th at 10:00 in the home of Debra Joyce. Beth Hall co-hosted. Refreshments were served as members visited and met the guest speaker.
  
  At approximately 10:30, Dr. Ilana Kadmon of Hadassah Medical Center informed and entertained the group for over an hour. Although she sports the title of doctor, this passionate carer proudly hails from the ranks of nursing. At her mother’s suggestion some years back, Ilana decided to pursue a career in this burgeoning academic discipline. While nurses have been around as long as medicine, the profession was moving into a more respected area in the early 1980s.
  

...........................Ilana receiving a welcome gift from Beth Hall

Hadassah offered one of the first advanced degree in nursing and Ilana secured a place and received her BA. After graduation, she worked at Hadassah in the general surgical ward and was ‘exposed to breasts’. A scholarship in France and an opportunity in Edinburgh, Scotland led to a PhD in nursing and a specialization in breast cancer. Not only did Ilana gain an international education but a Chinese husband in the process.

The couple spent a number of years living in Israel where he taught Chinese at University and she researched, wrote, and worked. Ilana discussed her PhD thesis that reflected a novel approach to breast cancer treatment titled “Women’s Decision Making in Breast Cancer Care”. In the late 1980’s the totality of care; surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, the nursing staff, and the patient all working together, was beginning to take hold and Ilana stood on the forefront of this revolutionary medical movement. Today this ‘one stop shopping’ is gaining world popularity and allows women to gather her personalized information and use it to make the most informed decisions about her own treatment and recovery.

Assisted by high-profile celebrities discussing their own experiences, breast cancer was elevated to a new platform in the medical community. With awareness came funding and programs were expanded in developed countries around the world. Today, there are 30 full-time breast cancer nurses in Israel and exposing China to this type of specialized care is Ilana’s current project.

Hadassah has a long history of cooperation and shared goals with the Mainland and this latest foray is just another attempt to improve the health of the Chinese people. Unfortunately, a number of hurdles exist that Ilana struggles with at this time; the humble perception of nurses, the lack of governmental priority, and the barriers to conducting meaningful research in China. The situation is further complicated by the rise in the breast cancer rate due to the modernization of diet and lifestyle. However, this does not dampen her spirit and she passionately discusses her upcoming trips and ongoing Hadassah initiatives.

Ilana then walked the group through the advancements made in areas of breast cancer prevention, detection and treatment.

PREVENTION

Prevention is increasingly more elusive as diets gets fattier and less fibrous, exercise and sleep decrease, and stress levels rise. However, we can combat the effects by improving our lifestyles and being diligent about what we put into our bodies.

Although estrogen gets a uniformly bad rap, there are different types from different sources. High levels of estrogen produced in our bodies serves as a risk factor so women who have their menses early, experience late menopause and those who have no or late-in-life children should be aware of their prolonged production of this hormone. Birth control pills, while presenting other complications, also seem not to increase the cancer rates. However, a link has been established in the use of estrogen to combat menopausal symptoms and this type of cancer. Ilana notes that breast cancer deaths continue to decline as fewer women opt out of hormone therapy.

EARLY DETECTION

Our guest is heartened by the fact that woman have more choices in health care professionals and are becoming more breast aware. While Ilana does not diminish the intent of self-examinations, the new approach stresses looking for changes rather than being expected to ‘detect a problem’. She asks members to share the message with friends and family to look at your breasts and note changes in color, lumps, or the nipples and talk to a trusted professional.

Diagnostics have evolved through the years and now we have more than a ‘one tool per age group’ type of approach. While Israel requires the governmental heath fund to give a mammogram to every woman over 50, most countries do not afford such comprehensive coverage. However, woman must take control and monitor their breasts, visit their doctors, and understand when to request a mammogram and/or an ultrasound.
While still fraught with limitations, a mammogram is the best diagnostic tool to detect cancer in older breasts where the tissue and muscles are not as dense.
Mammograms have reduced the death rate by 30%!
An ultrasound is most effective in younger breasts or as a secondary ‘set of eyes’ after a mammogram

TREATMENT

As discussed above, the future wave in breast cancer care is the comprehensive one. A facility that is dedicated to the physical, medical, psychological and holistic approach to this specialty is most effective. By having all involved parties at the table, those in decision making positions can take into account all protocols and tailor the treatment, accordingly. Ilana posits that these cooperatives would be best served with a breast cancer nurse coordinating each woman’s care.

While it would be ideal if China were on board with mass screening and comprehensive treatment, they are not there, yet. Ilana hopes that with each instructional visit, the benefits will become more obvious and resources allocated.

The question regarding prophylactic mastectomy elicited an interesting response. Ilana stated that a woman with the mutated gene (a small percentage of the population and ethnically centralized) may want to consider this option but also must be aware that this mutation increases the risk of ovarian cancer. This cancer is more dangerous and difficult to detect in early stages so a candidate may opt to have her ovaries removed before her breasts.

A query about the Chinese government’s reluctance to accept Western imported medical techniques moved into a brief discussion about both the political and geographical hurdles in this vast country.

A final suggestion that stress plays a role in the rise of breast cancer rates was emphatically reinforced by our guest.

Our lively speaker closed with how she met Kathy Chiron and came to share her story with the League.

Kathy reminded everyone about the May 12th annual meeting to begin at 11:30 at the Congress Restaurant at the Convention Center. She then asked if the April 14th meeting was on schedule and Sandra Collins-de Lange, Robin Ernest, and Adrienne Urbanec stated they were working on a venue and speaker.

Debbie Verity then spoke briefly on the League activities in the US. Debbie was president of the HK league in 2004 and is now president of her local unit in Thousand Oaks, California. Debbie told us that the League in the US is comprised mostly of energetic, intelligent retirees who have the time and the inclination to become involved in local political situations. She mentioned that each League chapter in a particular area (e.g., Los Angeles County) is headed by a “leader” while the “president” oversees all chapters in the area. She has been involved in many local issues, including the frequent California ballot referenda.

The meeting concluded just after 11:30 and most members headed to lunch at the Pacific Club. Our thanks to Debra Joyce for arranging the excellent buffet luncheon.



Submitted by Adrienne Urbanec

INAUGURAL CELEBRATION 2009 & January events

January 20, 2009 – Hong Kong Inaugural Celebration – 8 p.m. to midnight at the Foreign Correspondence Club.

LWV along with Republicans Abroad, The Harvard Alumni Association and Democrats Abroad all endorsed this event. It is also a launch for three new charities all involved with education in HK, China and the US. Net proceeds of well over 100,000 HKD will support the China Schools Foundation to strengthen primary school education in rural China, Mandarin Immersion for Minority Youth to provide opportunities for minority Americans to study Chinese, and the Junior Statesmen Hong Kong Scholarship Fund to support opportunities for Hong Kong youth to study American government.

Additionally, the League was busy in January with the lovely cocktail reception hosted by the League at the residence of our honorary president Mei Chou and her husband US Consul General Joe Donovan. We also had an enlightening presentation about the issues facing women and girls in Hong Kong given by the director of The Women’s Foundation.

November 2008 - Food in Hong Kong with Peter Johnson

The November 11th, 2008 League meeting invited Peter Johnston, a Chartered Food Scientist and Fellow (& former Director) of the Institute of Food Science & Technology (UK), to speak at the meeting. He has lived in Hong Kong for many years and is an expert on Hong Kong food quality and safety. He spoke on where our foods come from plus the impact of Hong Kong’s new labeling law.
He was presented with a small gift by Jane Buck, who hosted the meeting, as a token of our appreciation.

October 2008 - NENT Landfill Tour

October 31, 2008 Touring a Landfill

The Swire SITA Waste Services location is north of Fanling. The group met with Mr. Mike Campbell, General Manager of the company given a briefing and tour of the NENT Landfill. The following is an excerpt put together by member Lynn Nill.

The Hong Kong Chapter of the League of Women Voters of the United States is a unique group. Not only is it one of the very few League chapters outside the US, it really focuses on both making sure that US expats know how to cast their ballot while living overseas, but also tries to educate its members on the government and political activity in Hong Kong. There are many places and venues in Hong Kong for learning about Chinese culture, but it’s more difficult to discover the intricacies of the government and the different governmental agencies that make life here function.

We went way out into the New Territories to tour one of the landfills. The North East New Territories (NENT) landfill did not look anything like what we expected a landfill to be. It was clean, tidy, efficiently run, well-planned and COVERED! It was also unimaginably huge, which if you consider the population of Hong Kong, is to be expected. There are three landfills for Hong Kong in the New Territories and this was the smallest one. The three landfills are located in Nim Wan, Tseung Kwan O and Ta Kwu Ling. Liners, leachate collection and treatment systems, landfill gas management systems, and surface and ground water management systems are in place to control air and water impacts. To view more information on the landfill you can visit: http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/prob_solutions/msw_nent.html
The reason the landfill is covered is that they make synthetic natural gas there. The trash is taken to a section of the landfill, where it is crushed and spread out on a bed of gravel, glass, rock and dirt and then covered with more dirt. When a section is filled it is covered with green plastic held down with old tires and rope. Into the plastic are sent pipes that remove the gas and send it to the machines that turn it into synthetic natural gas, which is sold to Town Gas, the natural gas distributor for Hong Kong.

We learned a lot about recycling in Hong Kong on this tour. It’s different than in the US, because there is a very active middleman enterprise of recycling collection. Even if you don’t put your recyclables into recycling containers, some little old man or woman is going to retrieve that item and sell it to the recycling companies. Any paper, plastic, tin or aluminum cans are going to be recycled. There is no market for recycling glass in Hong Kong, but it still gets used as part of the base for the landfills.

When we asked why there weren’t more recycling collection centers in Hong Kong our tour guide patiently explained that that would put people out of work. It’s just a different way of thinking about the process than in the US. We actually found that pretty reassuring.
Something else we learned is the sort of thing that seems to happen so much in China and Hong Kong. The trash from Hong Kong Island is supposed to go to the landfills in the New Territories via boat from collection centers on the Island. But it costs money to take trash to the collection centers. So instead, the private trash collectors drive their trash directly to the landfills, wasting fuel and damaging the roads. So why doesn’t the government remove the fee at the collection centers? Good question…with the same answer as so many other questions here – that’s China!